1. Day is dying in the west; Heav'n is touching earth with rest; Wait and worship while the night Sets the evening lamps alight Through all the sky. 2. Lord of life, beneath the dome Of the universe, Thy home, Gather us who seek Thy face To the fold of Thy embrace, For Thou art nigh. 3. While the deepening shadows fall, Heart of love enfolding all, Through the glory and the grace Of the stars that veil Thy face, Our hearts ascend. 4. When forever from our sight Pass the stars, the day, the night, Lord of angels, on our eyes Let eternal morning rise And shadows end. Chorus: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav'n and earth are full of Thee! Heav'n and earth are praising Thee, O Lord most high!
Lyrics: Mary Artemesia Lathbury
Music: William Fiske Sherwin
Tune: CHAUTAUQUA
Meter: 7.7.7.7.4. with Refrain
Mary A. Lathbury, 1841–1913
With a desire to encourage religious and cultural activities, Miss Lathbury worked with others to establish the Chautauqua Movement on the shores of beautiful Lake Chautauqua near Jamestown, New York. She became affectionately known as the “Poet Laureate and Saint of Chautauqua.” In 1877, Mary was asked to write a hymn that would be suitable for the evening vesper services of Chautauqua. As she stood on the shore of the lake watching the magnificent setting sun one evening, Mary received the inspiration for the first two stanzas of her hymn. The final two stanzas were added 2 years later. After the music director of Chautauqua, Professor William Fisk Sherwin, composed a suitable melody for the text, “Day Is Dying in the West” was used that same summer.